Get inspired, baby!

One of the many challenges of entrepreneurship is maintaining vision and energy after the initial excitement of launch. A fantastic website resource for inspiration is Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com).

Co-founded by Victoria Colligan and Beth Schoenfeldt, Ladies Who Launch is an online magazine full of entrepreneurial success stories of every kind. It is also the source of a rapidly expanding, nationwide incubator program. That, along with other features (for example, a promotional “launch pad”), make this website worth a good look (and the free subscription).

My favorite portion of the website, Featured Ladies, contains profiles of women in a wide array of professions and businesses, from new entrepreneurs to seasoned business veterans, from the ultra-famous to the regular josephines.

Of course, stories of productive and creative women pursuing their dreams are inspiring in and of themselves. Even more memorable for me, though, are the answers these women provide for the tough interview questions: “How do you handle fear?” “What do you do with rejection?” Upon reading their responses, it always strikes me that, hey, these women are real. They have actually faced serious challenges and overcome serious obstacles. It’s not an easy world out there, yet they have achieved tremendous success within it.

My favorite interview question in Featured Ladies is “How do you define success?” Interestingly, even though these women have achieved recognition, wealth, and all that the world has to offer, those don’t constitute “success” in their eyes. Instead, these women define success as happiness or peace or fulfillment. How’s that for perspective?

Oh, and baby, you’ll love their tagline -- it reads “entrepreneurship & creativity as a lifestyle!” For me, knowing that this combination has been possible for so many women – well, that is the best inspiration of all.